Evgenii Dadonov did not attract – or very little – the attention of the other formations of the NHL since the beginning of the season because of his lackluster performances with the Montreal Canadiens.
However, the recent offensive awakening of Dadonov, who has 4 points in his last 3 games, may well catch the attention of some teams as the March 3 trade deadline approaches.
During his interview with Hockey 360, the informant Pierre LeBrun noted that some teams “keep an eye on Dadonov”, but that no general manager had probably called Kent Hughes until now.
If the market were to heat up for Dadonov, LeBrun believes he would be traded at the March 3 deadline to a team that failed to realize its ambitions by acquiring a more desirable player.
“Let’s say you have a team that wants to go get Timo Meier or Patrick Kane. The teams that have a list of players and that arrive on March 3 without having been able to get one of the big names – and that Dadonov continues to play well – I think it’s true that we could call the Canadian to last minute to offer a choice of 3e or 4e round,” LeBrun explained to Marc Labrecque at Hockey 360.
In 45 games with Montreal since the start of the season, Dadonov has been limited to 4 goals and 13 assists, in addition to posting a -6 differential.
“We know that Dadonov played well in the last two months with Vegas last year, as he is able to do. If he continues to play the way he plays now, there’s a chance the Canadiens could finally trade him,” concluded LeBrun.
The 33-year-old striker, who was drafted in 3e round by the Panthers in 2007, is currently in the final year of a three-year contract that earns him an average of $5 million annually.
In 458 NHL games, Dadonov has 128 goals and 154 assists for a total of 282 points.
